Illusory Realm

Shen Changqing was no stranger to the chill that swept toward him.

Such chill had appeared in Demon Suppression Prison before.

It was just that—

The chill before him was still far weaker than the one in Demon Suppression Prison.

Yet even if it was weaker, that was only in comparison to Meridian Opening martial artists. For those below Meridian Opening, it would still have a considerable effect.

Turning his head to look at Zhang Long's slightly pale face, Shen Changqing slowed his steps a little.

"Constable Zhang, perhaps you should withdraw and wait outside the village. Leave the demonic evil here to me alone."

"You overstate things, Lord Shen. Everyone bears responsibility for demonic evils. How could I shrink back? Besides, though Ancient Moon Village is not large, it is not exactly small either. To accurately locate the demonic evil, someone still needs to show the way."

Zhang Long shook his head in refusal. Though his face was pale, he showed no intention of retreating.

Seeing this,

Shen Changqing did not press the matter.

The two walked silently through the village. At some unknown point, the blazing sun above them had quietly dimmed, as though a veil of mist had shrouded the entire village, cutting it completely off from the rest of the world.

There were no insects chirping, nor any birds calling.

Only soft, delicate footsteps sounded by their ears.

Gradually,

An invisible pressure came from every direction, as though it could stir boundless terror within one's heart.

But before Shen Changqing, that pressure had little effect.

As someone who had patrolled Demon Suppression Prison for years, he had seen many demons, monsters, and strange creatures, and understood these evil beings quite well.

According to the intelligence,

The strange creature in Ancient Moon Village was merely the lowest Nether Level. It did not even qualify to be imprisoned in Demon Suppression Prison and could not possibly compare to those powerful demons, monsters, and strange creatures.

And when Shen Changqing patrolled Demon Suppression Prison, although the cells were equipped with restrictive powers, they could not truly seal everything away without the slightest leak.

Therefore,

He had become largely immune to the influence of demonic evils.

Even if there was still some effect, it would not affect him too greatly.

Zhang Long's face was somewhat pale now, but his expression remained calm.

"Lord Shen, that house ahead is where the demonic evil has been causing trouble."

As he spoke, he pointed at a house in the village.

The house was built from bluestone, vastly different from the surrounding mud-brick homes. It looked rather conspicuous.

"This family must have been quite wealthy."

"They were a well-known landlord family in Ancient Moon Village. Sadly, when the demonic evil struck, no amount of wealth was of any use. They still died in their home. By the time they were discovered, they had already become dried corpses."

Zhang Long sighed, feeling quite powerless before demonic evils.

Shen Changqing asked, "Where are those dried corpses now?"

"Because they were killed by a demonic evil, we feared the bodies might change somehow. So after the coroner examined them, we cremated all the corpses at once, cutting off the possibility of the demonic evil using them to harm others."

"Mm."

Hearing Zhang Long's answer, Shen Changqing nodded again.

The Lin'an City yamen had indeed handled the matter properly.

Some powerful demonic evils could awaken the corpses of the dead and use them to massacre living beings. Cremating the bodies was an indispensable measure.

As they spoke,

The two had already arrived before the bluestone house.

Only upon reaching it did Shen Changqing realize that the so-called house was actually a sizable courtyard residence. Its gate was tightly locked, and an ominous aura seeped from within.

With a palm strike,

Shen Changqing directly shattered the lock on the courtyard gate, then pushed it open and walked inside.

"Lord Shen, what formidable inner strength!"

Seeing him snap the lock with a single palm strike, Zhang Long's expression changed slightly.

After all,

The lock had been forged from pure iron. It was no easy task to break it with true qi.

For Shen Changqing to accomplish this, his strength was self-evident.

While he spoke,

Shen Changqing had already stepped into the courtyard.

The already dim surroundings became even darker. Though it had not reached the point where one could not see one's hand before one's face, it was still difficult to imagine that the true scene outside should have been one of blazing sun overhead.

A nameless tree stood in the courtyard, its branches and leaves lush. Unfortunately, most of them had already withered yellow. When the courtyard gate opened, a faint breeze stirred, causing some yellowed leaves to drift down.

"Lord Shen, when this family was found, they had died in the master bedroom. Please follow me!"

Zhang Long's voice sounded from behind him.

Immediately after,

He took the lead, walking toward one side of the courtyard.

Seeing this,

Shen Changqing followed behind Zhang Long.

The other man was clearly very familiar with the courtyard. Without taking much time, he arrived before a tightly shut door.

"Lord Shen, this is where the demonic evil first appeared."

Zhang Long pointed at the door, his expression turning grave.

At that,

Shen Changqing kicked the door open. The tremendous crash echoed endlessly through the silent courtyard.

He stepped into the room and immediately saw a bronze mirror placed within.

At that instant,

The scene around him abruptly changed.

The room was still the same room, but compared to what he had just seen, it was now far more dilapidated, as though no one had lived there for many years.

Shen Changqing turned back. Zhang Long, who had been behind him, had vanished at some unknown point.

"Wuwu—"

Soft sobbing came at him from beside his ears, as though someone were hiding in some corner and crying quietly.

But soon,

The sobbing disappeared, replaced by cheerful laughter ringing through the silent space.

Shen Changqing's gaze fell upon the courtyard, where he happened to see several black shadows with indistinct features running and chasing one another. Judging by their shapes, they should have been several children.

And the toy they were playing with

Was a round object being kicked back and forth.

All of a sudden,

One child seemed to have kicked too hard, and the round ball flew toward Shen Changqing.

At once,

His long saber shot from its sheath.

A frigid gleam flashed past, instantly cleaving the round object apart.

Blood sprayed.

The round object fell to the ground in two halves. It was, astonishingly, the halves of a human head.

The severed head's eyes remained wide open, staring fixedly at him.

Shen Changqing walked forward slowly and crushed one half of the head beneath his foot. As black blood splattered across the ground, he looked at the shadows in the courtyard with a faintly savage expression.

"Come to think of it, I've never fought a true strange creature before!"

"Perfect. Let me see what methods you strange creatures truly possess. If this is merely an illusion, then you will have disappointed me far too much—"

Just as he slowly approached,

A cold, vicious gleam abruptly rose from the dim surroundings, already tearing through everything.